Musings About Making Money Blogging

Birthdays always seem to put me in a reflective mood. Today I asked myself a question – would I wish this on anyone else (my blogging experience)? Surprisingly, the answer is quite complicated.

It’s complicated because I find it hard to explain to non-bloggers how much work is really involved in the process of trying to earn an income online. Yes, there are success stories where in less than a year someone is able to make a full-time income. However, I suspect for every person who does that, there are a thousand who quit along the way.

But it’s not all pie and ice cream.

Would I suggest that you start a blog?

Yes, because:

It’s a great way to earn a decent side income. I think that a person with a solid work ethic ought to be able to make a reasonable income within a couple of years. I remember Free Money Finance once saying that an average blogger should be able to make $10,000 per year after two years. When I started blogging, I figured I could at least be average.

Can’t beat the flexibility. I’ve had a handful of other side jobs including fast food worker, newspaper delivery boy, bus driver, recreation coordinator at apartments for seniors, substitute teaching, and basketball coaching. All of those jobs had certain times I had to show up and leave. Blogging does not.

Fits with location independent living. I never thought I’d be able to have a part time job (nor did I ever want to) working as a missionary. Coming up over the next few months, our family will be on the road for nearly four months. The nice thing is that my computer, and thus my job, comes with me.

It’s a great way to connect with people. I’ve met a lot of people online. I talk about them just like the friends I know from everyday life.

It’s a fantastic way to help people. When I started blogging, I felt like I had a more than average knowledge on the topic of personal finance and the Bible, so I wanted to share what I knew. The blog has helped me touch people.

No, because:

To be successful you need to be an extremely driven person. I’ve got the drive, but it’s putting it in park that is hard for me. I’ve found that bloggers tend to be all on or all off. You’re either blogging or talking about blogging every waking hour, or saying all the work is ridiculous and quitting. There are very few bloggers (who earn an income) who just post and walk away from the blog.

It’s a lot of hard work.

It can be discouraging. You work for hours on end and wonder if it ever matters. One thing I like about MH4C is that helping people has its own reward without any monetary consideration.

You might not earn any income. I know a lot of great bloggers who haven’t been able to make more than a few dollars a month from their blog. A lot of people think they’ll start a blog and earn a huge income in a week. Wrong.

I say all that to give you realistic expectations if you want to start blogging.

One of the things I did right was I sought out someone to mentor me as a blogger. That person was Bob Lotich from Christianpf. Once a month for several months we chatted on Skype, and I tried to suck as much information out of Bob each session. I’d finish up the call felling a sense of direction.

Now, Bob’s a busy guy, so obviously it’s not possible for all of us to get one on one face-to-face time with him. However, he sent me an email this week letting me know about a webinar that he and Jonathan Milligan are working on.

Obviously, I’ve not previewed any of the webinars as they not yet happed, but I know Bob, and I know what he has to offer to a potential blogger. His experience is extensive, and his knowledge coupled with compassion is invaluable.

It is not for everyone, and it can be tough. If I didn’t enjoy writing about the stuff I write about, I would fail. I tried to make a niche site, and it failed because I wasn’t motivated by the content. However, on The College Investor, I love the topics and the readers, and it makes it so enjoyable. In fact, last month was my highest grossing month yet!